Peace Pilgrim carried petitions calling for disarmament, a Department of
Peace, and an immediate end to the Korea war. She walked 3,000 miles to give
these petitions to elected officials in
Washington, DC, and then went to the United Nations in New York City. She
continued walking for 28 years, crisscrossing the United States six times,
traversing Canada, and covering over 25,000 miles. As her friend Ann Rush notes,
“She did not ask for anything. She slept wherever she could, such as a bus
station or corn field, if no one offered her a place to sleep…. To all who would
listen she talked about the vital need for peace and the practical things that
anyone could do to work for peace—peace in the world and peace within, which she
recognized as interwoven.”
She wore a blue tunic with the words “Peace Pilgrim” and carried
everything she owned with her. She
claimed to have achieved inner peace after much inward struggle. Those who met
her were inspired by her infectious cheerfulness and optimism. She appeared on
numerous radio and TV shows, including Johnny Carson and Joe Pine, and spoke at
hundreds of colleges, schools and churches, including Cal Tech here in
Pasadena.
Peace Pilgrim died in a car accident in 1981, at age 73, but her legacy
continues today. Her teachings and remarkable life story were gathered together
in pamphlets and books that circulated over a million copies—distributed for
free (see peacepilgrim.org). Songs and children’s books have been written about
her. In 2001, her statue was placed at the United Nations University of Peace in
Costa Rica, alongside statues of other world peace makers such as Gandhi and
Tolstoy.
This year Peace Pilgrim’s memory is being honored by Pasadena’s
religious leaders. Rev.
Dr. Donna Byrns, Senior Minister of The Church of Truth, is coordinating an
interfaith peace walk and shoe drive, inspired by Peace Pilgrim. The finale of
the drive will be an Interfaith Peace Walk. Participants will walk a mile from
various locations and converge at 2:00 PM at Memorial Park on Sunday, March 3,
2013. Representing Pasadena's rich diversity of religious traditions, prayers
for peace will be spoken by members of diverse faiths, demonstrating a shared
commitment to work and live in peace for the common good.
Rev
Donna Christine Park, founder of WAMMS (Walk a Mile in My Shoes – On the Path to
Peace), walked at the end of this year’s Rose Parade to commemorate the 60th
anniversary of Peace Pilgrim’s first walk.
Wearing
angel wings and a colorful dress with peace signs, Rev Park was much more
flamboyant than Peace Pilgrim. But Park exuded that same irresistible
cheerfulness and optimism.
Currently
residing in Mesa, AZ, Rev Park has traveled to Peace Pilgrim’s birthplace in Egg
Harbor, NJ, researched her life story, and met with her 98-year-old sister
Helene who said, “My sister would be smiling at the thought that you are walking
in the Rose Parade in memory of her.” Park has also organized shoe drives
throughout the US that gathered over 16,000 “gently used”
shoes.
Donna
lives on a shoestring budget—social security disability—and must use a walker to
get around, but that did not deter her from participating in the Rose
Parade.
“I
intend to do as much as I can while I can,” she said. Her walker was decorated
like a float, with flowers and a poster depicting Peace Pilgrim, that brought
smiles to passersby. My Quaker friend Heather and I had the honor of joining
her, carrying a poster that said, “War is not the answer.”
“I
am thrilled to be here at the Rose Parade following in the footsteps of Peace
Pilgrim,” said Rev Park as she handed out flyers and gathered signatures calling
for a Department of Peace and disarmament, just as Peace Pilgrim did 60 years
ago.
Peace
Pilgrim would no doubt be pleased that her concern for peace and the homeless
still resonates here in Pasadena, where her amazing journey began. Her message of peace is needed now more than
ever.
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